Patrick Zarcone

F**k the haters: June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month!

By Patrick Zarcone / May 31, 2024 / Comments Off on F**k the haters: June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month!

Pride is about loving who you love, embracing who you are and being who you were meant to be. Sometimes, the greatest act of resistance is to be who you are and to continue to love in a world that’s increasingly pushing us toward hate.

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The UNC System Board of Governors – handpicked by the GOP – votes to repeal DEI policies at 17 system campuses

By Patrick Zarcone / May 24, 2024 / Comments Off on The UNC System Board of Governors – handpicked by the GOP – votes to repeal DEI policies at 17 system campuses

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs exist to help students from diverse backgrounds find success and feel accepted on college campuses.

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It’s Teacher Appreciation Week and NC Republicans just passed a bill diverting taxpayer money from public schools to a private school voucher program

By Patrick Zarcone / May 11, 2024 / Comments Off on It’s Teacher Appreciation Week and NC Republicans just passed a bill diverting taxpayer money from public schools to a private school voucher program

Gov. Roy Cooper said that the money Republicans are spending on the private school voucher program would be enough to pay for 8.5% average raises and $1,500 bonuses for most public school teachers.

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Teacher Appreciation Week starts May 6: How to show your thanks to our teachers and tell Lt. Gov. Robinson we don’t need right-wing politics in our schools

By Patrick Zarcone / May 3, 2024 / Comments Off on Teacher Appreciation Week starts May 6: How to show your thanks to our teachers and tell Lt. Gov. Robinson we don’t need right-wing politics in our schools

Teacher Appreciation Week begins on Monday and now is the perfect opportunity to recognize the hard work our public school educators, faculty and staff put in to ensure the success of our children.

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Gov. Roy Cooper releases 2024-25 budget proposal that calls for $1B+ for public schools, 8.5% raise for teachers

By Patrick Zarcone / May 3, 2024 / Comments Off on Gov. Roy Cooper releases 2024-25 budget proposal that calls for $1B+ for public schools, 8.5% raise for teachers

Gov. Cooper’s budget proposal includes an 8.5% pay raise for teachers, an investment of over $1 billion in public schools – “instead of more taxpayer-funded private school vouchers” – and tax relief for small businesses and working families.

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NCGA’s ‘short session’ is underway and legislators have an extra $1B to work with – will the GOP supermajority be willing to help everyday North Carolinians?

By Patrick Zarcone / April 29, 2024 / Comments Off on NCGA’s ‘short session’ is underway and legislators have an extra $1B to work with – will the GOP supermajority be willing to help everyday North Carolinians?

Issues such as funding the state’s multi-billion-dollar private school voucher program (by using taxpayer money and defunding public schools), marijuana, guns, immigration, gambling, changes to election laws and numerous others will likely be debated this session.

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Some of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s worst verbal attacks have targeted Black women

By Patrick Zarcone / April 19, 2024 / Comments Off on Some of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s worst verbal attacks have targeted Black women

One expert said Mark Robinson’s rise comes from a “historical lack of curiosity about the Black voter” and that he is a “tsunami of anti-Black disinformation.”

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AG Josh Stein announces NC’s decades-long backlog of 16,000 untested rape kits has been cleared

By Patrick Zarcone / April 19, 2024 / Comments Off on AG Josh Stein announces NC’s decades-long backlog of 16,000 untested rape kits has been cleared

“We’ve put in place measures to ensure that we never get into this situation again in North Carolina, and I intend to continue to do everything in my power to help law enforcement solve cold cases and get rapists off the streets and behind bars,” Stein said.

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Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has far more confidence in winning Black votes than Black voters have in Mark Robinson

By Patrick Zarcone / April 12, 2024 / Comments Off on Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has far more confidence in winning Black votes than Black voters have in Mark Robinson

According to a February Meredith Poll, only 3% of likely Black voters said they’d vote for Robinson over Democrat Josh Stein this fall – a drop from 15% support in November 2023.

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Not taking NC for granted: Biden campaign opening 10 new field offices across the state

By Patrick Zarcone / April 12, 2024 / Comments Off on Not taking NC for granted: Biden campaign opening 10 new field offices across the state

The Biden campaign, which is headquartered in Raleigh, will open field offices in Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Cumberland, Johnston, Orange, New Hanover, Buncombe, Cabarrus and Alamance counties.

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